The clarion., 1887-10-12
HOOKING A TROUT.
Vivid Description OF an Experiences Dear
to an Anglers Heart

"a ~ II Wd> = 0laGuluCtDt Ial4 OF full |
twenty feet. the waters leaping down
a sheer face of rock. and plunging into
q basin ten or twelve feet in width.
There was dense growth of spruce
about the pool. and hemlock and
spruce, with stunted underground.
hung over the edge of the precipitous
rock 1t was a romantic spot, dark,
oyershadowed and cool As | ap-
preached the basin cautiously and pre-
pared 10 make cast, | said to myself:
There Is the very hole for a monster
trout With extreme care l made my
preparation, selecting the exact spot
where | would cast. and got every
thing in readiness in case there should
be rise.
There was risei have never seen
q lure taken by brook trout so mag
nihcently. The fy had not even as
yet touched the dark surface of the
pool, when there was a flash like
gleam of light, and superb trout
broke the surface, making that indie
| scribably graceful arch which everv
angler can so vividly picture to him.
self, and seized the fly as it settled on
the water. | struck almost instanta-
neously with the appearance of the
trout, and none too quick, so rapid
was the rise
Then ensued battle in the forest
struggle fifty framed in by the dark
spruces and the somber hemlocks.
The trout made rush for the depths
of the pool, and | prudently let him
have all the line had to spare. The
reel buzzed quite sharply for a mo-
| ment, then there came a little sack,
which | took in Immediately. For the
next half minute there was an expect
ant and significant pause on the part
| of both the trout and myself But not
| for long. l took a step forward. and
there was rush up through the crys-
tai basin that fairly heard above the
| roar of the waterfall. Cutting the sur
| face obliquely, the trout leaped full
two feet from the water If there had
| been sunlight in that dark nook, how
his sides would have flashed! As it
was / could see the red mottling and
the silver gleam of the under scales.
The slackened tackle hung around him
| like lot of twisted wire. In midair
the trout shook himself; then he came
down slap on the water, and | thought
surely my prize was gone | expected
nothing less than to find that he had
shaken the hook from his Jaws. But
no! Rapidly reeling in the silk, /
found the hook still held fast. | had
struck hard, and the barbed tip was
| well seated.
Then the trout made the pool boil.
| How he flashed around it, and how the
line cut the water like swift travel
ing knifei l kept taut line, for /
knew that such tactics as these would
prove more destructive to the strength
of the fish than to my tackle. The
trout seemed to realize this, too, after
a time, for he ceased his furious and
purposeless struggles and began to
sulk. This / knew, was the critical
| time-or rather the eve of the critical
time-and l made ready for the quick
| maneuver that was sure to follow. Ii
came with a suddenness that almost
spoiled my calculations Instead OF
shooting perpendicularly to the sur
face, as | expected, the trout darted
straight at me, keeping at a consider
able depth. had but little line out,
and the tip of my rod bent like the let
ter G. All this transpired in about
half second of time, and if | had not
presence of mind enough To lower the
point of the rod doubt if even Chubb's
lancewood would have stood the strain.
| eAS eAAN O"NA vi UP, uOmtNtI,
and the paying out of more line the
trout changhd its tactics. Now it was
that he darted TO the surface with the
speed OF rocket, and flinging himself
with all his strength from the water
made last grand effort TO shake the
hook from his Jaws If it had no
been deeply bedded in the gristle i
certainly would not have held, for ;
better executed maneuver / never saw
on the part of any game fish. Blu
when l quickly reeled in my slack, anC
found that the hook was still held fast
| knew that the trout was mine. L
was only a question of time. My
heart gave a great bound of exultatior
at this discovery, for if l ever ardently
desired to possess trout it was the
monarch of that pool.
My victim now became restless and
lashed the water violently, anon dart
ing around the basin, and using up his
strength in the most restless manner.
| Pretty soon he became so exhausted
| that he lay still near the center of the
| pool, and as the water calmed | could
see the magnificent fellow outlined
against the gravelly bottom. He
looked fully foot long-and this is a
moderate statement for fisherman to
make. Time was when | should have
said two feet and half at the least
But | was less experienced then and
also less veracious.
Gradually | coaxed the tired trout
toward the edge of the basin He
made no fight, simply hung back and
padded simply with his fms. Kneeling
down at the edge of the water, with
rod held high above my head and as
far back as | could reach, l slowly
dipped my landing net, and before my
victim knew it the meshes had passed
behind and around him, and he was
| EMBODIED in their tolls. Then | leaped
up with wild shout of triumph and
swept the net with the struggling fish
into my eager grasp. Firmly l took
my prize beneath the gills and held
him up before my face. Two pounds?
three poundsP" | asked myself What
should / say? There is the solemn
wildness, alone with the forest and the
brook, faced the great question of
moral rectitude and deliberately re-
solved that l should call my trout a
three-pounder.- american AnqLer
How the Monkey Stole the Money.
In house on the Boulevard Napol-
af laalvaI